Serial to USB - anyone else doing this?

Seeing the USB to HDMI device reminded me - I have access to a couple of old laser (HP 4L) printers and they have no USB, only parallel. I'm just wondering if using a cable like these works as a way to re-use these printers? If I remember rightly the HP 4L would appear in the standard printers offered by XP - not sure if this holds true for VISTA and seven.

Is anyone else in a similar situation to me, with no cash but access to stuff like this, and using this sort of setup?